As the time approaches September, the already bustling Piltover becomes even more lively because an important annual festival is approaching.
Evolution day.
This is a festival established to commemorate the opening of the sea gate "Sun Gate" and the opening of the fast trade route between the east and west of Valoran. It symbolizes progress, innovation and wealth, and marks the transformation of trade tax revenue from a trickle to a huge billowing stream.
The waves poured into the treasury of the city-state of Piltover.
On Evolution Day, major families will launch new products, and some inventors with dreams will also display their designs, hoping to gain the attention and funding of a certain family.
Foreigners who are interested in this will also come to Piltover before this day, and the ships coming and going make the port the most lively place.
Security checkpoint on a passenger ship.
Knop, who was in the middle of the queue, was nervously observing the inspection situation ahead.
I saw two law enforcement officers who were temporarily seconded to assist, handing back a universal capsule to a big fat man with disgust on their faces, complaining: "Only some ordinary food is stored, why do you guys hide it in your underwear?"
inside?"
"I, I'm not used to eating boat meals. I'm worried that someone will rob or steal it, and I'll starve..."
"Okay, I hope you have a good meal along the way." A law enforcement officer curled his lips helplessly and said: "Get on the boat."
The fat man walked over with some embarrassment, and there were bursts of laughter from behind. Only Nope could not laugh. He watched the law enforcement officer wave a special instrument on the person, even the universal capsule hidden in his underwear.
was found.
What is this? When?
His hands quietly touched several places on his body. The universal capsule sewn in the interlayer caused sweat to gradually form on his forehead. Damn it, what if he was found...
As he got closer, he saw a guy who was illegally hiding a gun being caught on the spot and taken to the police station. Knop couldn't stand it anymore.
He broke away from the group, turned around and left.
This aroused some side glances, and a sailor who was watching the excitement even shouted: "That gentleman must have forgotten something. The ship will leave in half an hour, so we won't wait until it's late!"
Hearing this, Nuopu staggered slightly and sped up to run wildly. His panic look was a bit abnormal, but the two law enforcement officers just looked at each other and tacitly ignored him.
But just after Knop ran a hundred meters, a figure suddenly came out from the side and hit Knop on the back of the head with a stick. Knop fell down!
The people in the queue were in a slight uproar, and the two law enforcement officers were also surprised. They quickly took out their weapons and ran in that direction, while shouting: "What's going on? Who are you?!"
The man who knocked out Knop wore a strange silver mask, and on his feet was a skateboard-like prop floating in the sky. He spread his hands and said: "It's okay, two law enforcement officers, I'm helping you arrest the smugglers.
Next, please ask the two of you to search this guy's body carefully."
Whoosh——
As soon as he finished speaking, the skateboard swayed, and he flew out with a whoosh. The two law enforcement officers chased him for a few symbolic steps, but there was no trace of the other person at all.
They looked at each other, at the passengers watching the excitement, and then at Knop lying on the ground, looking a little embarrassed.
…
Bang!!
"Fifty thousand 'shimmers', do you know that's a whole fifty thousand shimmers?!"
"My factory has to work around the clock for a month to produce that much. Do you know how much it costs? If I don't supply the buyer on time, how much I have to pay?!"
Zu'an, dance corridor.
A thin middle-aged man slapped the table hard, staring at the man opposite him with his left prosthetic eye even more ferociously, and roared.
His name is Silko, he is one of the alchemy barons of Zaun, he is also the recognized 'godfather' of all barons currently, and he is the underground controller of Zaun.
And the person who greeted him with his baptism of saliva on the opposite side was not just a simple person, it was the Chief Sheriff of Piltover Law Enforcement, Marcos!
At this moment, Marcus looked gloomy. Facing Hilko's scolding, he said calmly: "I know that there are 50,000 shimmers, and I also know that this matter has aroused heated discussion throughout Pi City, let alone taking it.
If we don’t come up with a reasonable explanation this time, Zaun will be turned upside down!”
Hilko immediately clenched his fists, and the veins on his arms bulged and trembled. After a while, he let go, took a deep breath, and sat back on the chair.
Of course he knew the seriousness of the problem.
Shimmer is a potion developed by a powerful alchemist. In layman's terms, it can also be called a 'violent potion'. It has multiple functions such as healing and strengthening, but it also comes with huge side effects.
Excessive use of shimmer will cause mental confusion or even mutation, and it is also addictive.
In the past few years, he has controlled Zaun through the Shimmer and amassed a large amount of wealth by smuggling the Shimmer out. The Shimmer is also the source of his confidence to lead the Undercity to rebel against Piltover.
With the help of Black Sheriff Marcos, things have gone smoothly in the past few years. Unexpectedly, this incident will lead to a big one!
Hilko knew without even thinking how they would react when these shimmering lights were detected by Piltover scientists, and anger was the most useless emotion at this time.
"What's going on with that tool for testing the universal capsule?" Hilko asked hoarsely.
"I don't know. I only saw that thing early yesterday morning, but it's normal, isn't it? With the popularity of the universal tool box, the smuggling trade has become more and more intense. Philos, the parliament will definitely take corresponding measures.
This simple detection device does not require Sewell's personal intervention at all. There are at least a hundred scientists in Pi City who can make it!
And although I didn’t have time to inform you, I also told the law enforcement officer who went to the dock not to get to the bottom of it if he found something strange. But the person you sent to deliver Shimmer was really... so stupid!"
Hilko was silent.
I was so panicked that I didn't know what to do. When I left, I was knocked unconscious by the guys from the Wildfire Gang in front of everyone. I was reported in front of everyone. I couldn't block the news in time and let too many people see Shimmer...
Nothing is right.
Hilko knew why Knop was nervous.
"I arranged for ten people to go out to sea in three ships." He said gloomily: "Those guys were afraid of the wind and waves on the sea and the Bilgewater pirates that had become increasingly rampant recently, so they secretly hired the guy named Knop without telling me.
Because Knop had a son and a mother to support, they felt they could control him well, and Knop didn't even know what was in the capsules sewn into his clothes!"
Marcos was speechless for a moment.
There was no need to ask what happened to those ten people. They caused such a big mess in such a ridiculous way, which even made him wonder if the man opposite him was still the underground king of Zaun.
However, a wise man must make mistakes after thinking a lot. The human heart is the most difficult thing to grasp. Just like me, one step is wrong and one step is wrong. It is normal for Hilko to make an omission. But if I don’t have the courage to change with Hilko,
I can only help him.
"What are you going to do now?"
"It's us." Hilko reminded, and then added: "Are you sure that the instrument for testing the universal capsule was not invented by Sewell?"
"Not sure, but he who just launched the universal firearm with Gila Mann should not have that kind of free time and energy now." Marcos shook his head and said: "And no matter what, this matter cannot have anything to do with him.
The Gray Lady has now come into everyone’s sight from behind the scenes for him. It is conceivable that if it hurts him, it will be more serious than this smuggling case!"
"Of course I know." Silko said: "I just want to confirm whether there is any shadow of the Gray Lady behind this matter! Besides, Sevier is a Zaun, so I don't need to attack him."
"Zuan?" Marcus didn't care: "He is the guest of all the nobles in Piltover."
Silko sneered: "The Piltover people's arrogance will eventually push him to us, just like this Evolution Day character. He should at least be qualified to compete with that Jess Tallis vote, even if he loses this time
, there should be no lack of process!”
He took a deep breath: "I am not interested in educating you about the differences between Piltover and Zaun at this time. In short, you must help me confirm as soon as possible whether the Philos family is paying attention to this smuggling case."
"……I see."
"Besides, where is Nope?"
"Temporarily detained in Stillwater Prison." Marcos answered well prepared: "But... he may be transferred by those congressmen for interrogation at any time."
"Although he probably doesn't know about Shimmer, and he probably doesn't know the specific identity of the buyer, but..." Silko closed his eyes and remained silent for a while, then said: "Let's find a way to kill him."
Marcus frowned slightly: "This is difficult."
"Nothing is more difficult than being ruined before your eyes, more difficult than dying due to infamy!" Silko said hoarsely: "Think about your status and wealth today, you will be able to find a solution."
Marcus was angry, but he could only be angry.
"Let's do it." Silko continued: "Fortunately among misfortunes, we are very close to the Evolution Day. I should be able to gain some extra reaction time. Even if the situation is ten times worse, Piltover will not be here.
Time to cleanse Zaun."
Marcus turned around silently and walked out of Hilko's office without looking back.
Opposite him, a strong, dark-skinned woman walked in. Her name was Sevika, and she was Hilko's number one confidant.
"Are we going to start a war with Piltover? Hilko." She asked in a deep voice.
"No, it's not the time yet." Hilko shook his head gently: "We... don't have any chance of winning yet. It's not the time for a head-on conflict yet."
After a pause, he closed his eyes heavily and lay back: "Arrange to take good care of Nuop's son and mother. Although I want to kill him with a thousand cuts, he... is also innocent."
"Hilko..."
"Go on, let me be quiet for a while. I want to think about it, think about it... think about it."
Meanwhile, upstairs.
A beautiful girl with dark blue hair tied into a single ponytail and a somewhat surly face was pouting, humming, and assembling a small object.
It was a little monkey with a somewhat evil appearance, a strange face, and a pair of small broken gongs in his hands. As the girl twisted the little monkey's clockwork, it began to move around on the table while beating the gongs.
, swaying.
When the little monkey came to the table, Jinx put her fingers together into a gun shape, said Boom in her mouth, and gave the little monkey a 'shot'.
The little monkey fell slumped, and something else seemed to fall.
"Little monkey, Hilko seems to be in big trouble?" Her voice was light and relaxed.
…
University of Piltover, a laboratory.
Scarlet eyes and fierce face.
A monster that looked as ferocious as an evil spirit pounced on Heimerdinger, slamming into the transparent cover.
Even so, the momentum still made Heimerdinger take a few steps back in a panic, until Jess stretched out his hand to support his head.
"Teacher, are you okay?"
"Ah~it's okay." Heimerdinger breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the creature that was crashing crazily in the glass cover, shook his big head and said: "If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would be hard to believe that that thing was just a little baby in the beginning.
of mice.”
Jess also looked solemn: "Yeah, I didn't expect the Zaun people to create such a dangerous thing, and also completed mass production without knowing it, 50,000 pieces, shipped out, are they going to arm an inhuman and terrifying army?
?!"
Victor on the other side didn't speak, just stared at the crazy rat and pondered. This style reminded him of a person. He was the only one in Zaun who could make such a thing, right?
In the short time, only the sound of the alienated mice frantically hitting the glass was left, and the short life of the mice that had taken the shimmering potion also came to an end.
The state of his death was equally terrifying. The flamboyant hair all over his body fell off one after another, the water in his body seemed to have been evaporated, and his eyeballs even fell out.
Seeing this, Jess said in a deep voice: "Teacher, we have done enough experiments. It's time to announce the results to those who pay attention to them."
"Announcing the results..." Heimerdinger's head seemed to have grown in size again, and he sighed: "I don't remember which old friend or student said it. Humanity's exploration of science is the exploration of its own extinction.
, so when we face science, we must be rigorous and cautious.
This smuggling case has caused quite a stir in Piltover. I think more opinions should be introduced. The thinking of you young people...well, there should also be more collisions. Maybe some epoch-making inventions will appear in the collisions?
"
Bringing in more opinions? Young people?
Inadvertently, Jess and Victor thought of the same person, and at this moment, someone knocked on the door of the laboratory.
"Oh, he's about time to come." Heimerdinger smiled: "Is it you, Sewell?"
"Yes, Principal Heimerdinger."
"Please come in."
As the laboratory door opened, Ji Xing's figure appeared in the eyes of Jess and Victor.
In fact, although Ji Xing has become a celebrity in Piltover during this period and is a hot new talent among major families, Jace and Victor have really not seen Ji Xing since his defense.
On the one hand, they are all scientists who are busy with their own affairs, especially Victor, who often laments the lack of time.
As for Jess, in addition to these, he is also a little embarrassed. He is ashamed of his hesitation during the Professor Brinor incident, and also feels a little embarrassed because of the recent "selection" of Evolution Day characters.
After nearly four months, Ji Xing appeared a little different when he appeared in front of the two of them.
The cheap clothes that relied solely on his temperament were replaced by expensive and decent suits, making him look like a real aristocrat.
The originally strong and well-developed muscles are less conspicuous under the clothes, but just by looking at the bright face, one can clearly feel its vigorous vitality, health and vitality.
A trace of envy flashed in Victor's eyes, and he was the first to say hello: "Sewell."
"Professor Victor." Ji Xing nodded in response, and then greeted: "Principal Heimerdinger, Professor Jess, did you ask me to come over?"
"Well~ don't be so polite, Sevier." Heimerdinger said enthusiastically: "Have you heard about the famous smuggling case that happened at the dock yesterday?"
"Of course, the other party is using universal capsules for smuggling." Ji Xing nodded: "The universal capsule detector was also developed by the Philos family's technicians after getting some information I provided. But I didn't pay attention to the specifics.
"
"Let's take a look at this." Heimerdinger tiptoed to gesture to the dead berserk mouse on the experimental table: "Sewell, do you have a certain understanding of biology and pharmacy?"
Ji Xing looked at the mouse, raised his eyebrows slightly, and replied: "I understand a little bit."
From Singapore to Shanghai, and from Shanghai back to Dalian, I have been traveling all day, and the flight only lasted seven hours. I finally arrived home, and I was so exhausted... I wrote most of this chapter on the plane. Although it is very shameless,... it is the end of the month,
Do you still want to give me two monthly passes? Haha.
Next, we will return to normal updates. We will take a two-day break and make up for the update in February!